04/16/2020
His overwhelming presence, one that I had come to know intimately, was thick upon me once again. With a gentle hand I felt a lifting, slow in nature but with a sense of purpose, as I, weightless, began to float beyond the realm of the living and into that of the supernatural; I simply allowed, without expectation or fear, complete control of my being for I knew with a certainty this compassionate touch of His hand and the leading that was sure to follow.
The journey, within atmospheric levels previously unbeknown to me, was calm, enveloping in nature, as all my senses, desperately tried to drink in the sights, the sounds, and the smells that held me captivated by their crisp clarity and purity. The air was beyond fresh, so very clean and without soil as we drifted through time, He and I, to a place of His desire; I did not want the transport to end. Familiar sights began to emerge as the mountain ranges and their valleys passed one after another beneath me until soon the final descent quickened and I was gently placed upon the ground with the greatest of care.
Standing alone, yet knowing I was not as His love still encompassed the entirety of the experience, my eyes began to refocus, in the earthly sense, with precision on my surroundings. What I at first thought were rocks scattered and strewn upon the floor of the valley soon would reveal otherwise. His gentle hand, refusing to allow me to stand in one place, once again moved me slowly over and amongst the field debris. The crunching under my feet, though each step was painstakingly chosen, horrified me with its experience. I was walking upon bones; bones that were so dry that they easily disintegrated to powder beneath the weight of my body. I wanted desperately to stop, right where I stood, but still He lightly pushed me further on and over the valley floor that was endless to my eye. Each step brought further despair until I could bear it no more and I finally resisted His gentle push for the first time.
Standing now, still upon the floor bed of bones, I wept. Sobbing uncontrollably, my tears, unending, cascaded down and upon the bones and their parched surfaces absorbed them within themselves instantaneously. I did not understand; why, why would He bring me to such a place of desolation?
A peace began to wash over me and soon I found myself in complete silence as the intermittent breezes whisked through the valley and upon my being; a moment earlier my face was awash with tears and now, within short time, it was dry and dusty with the bone residue affixing itself to me with volume.
Another breeze, and then another, worked its way through the silence of the valley and then I heard, the voice of Him, that I had come to know with a certainty.
“Son of man, can these bones live”?
The question pierced my heart; I had just spent countless hours walking atop and in their midst desperately trying not to disturb the ground that they lay upon with little success. I once again began to cry, yet, this time more controlled and with deep inner thought. I stood defeated, within the quiet, as the entirety of my existence, both inwardly and outwardly, reflected that of the atmosphere that held me in its unrelenting and persistent grip. I could not help but to think that in the innumerable quantity of bones, someone’s family member, a grandmother, a grandfather, a mother, a father, a son or daughter, one that at some point walked as I, now rested without in a wasteland of excess inhabitants. If that were not enough, I wondered, selfishly, as to my individual state and if I too might be counted at some point as nothing more than dry bones; what mark, what legacy was I leaving if any? It was all too overwhelming; how could I answer for the thoughts were truly beyond my comprehension? They, the bones, seemed so brittle, so decayed and just too far gone for any form of resurrection.
With very little tone, after much meditation, I responded sheepishly and with trepidation, “O Lord God, thou knowest.”
He, without any hesitation, would respond and with authority spoke, “Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. This saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live.”
Father, I possess a great impression within; I sense you are asking each one of your children this question today. “Son of man, can these bones live”?
We find ourselves, all of us, confined if you will, and while some sit alone, others are found with family, and we are, quite possibly, with ample time, capable of taking a few moments to contemplate; surely there must be a pause Father for the question cries out with a fervency this morning for our attention.
What are you speaking Lord so many years later after Ezekiel’s vision? Dare I suggest, as believers, as your sons and daughters, heirs, that I am fearful, we have walked, blinded, unprepared, ill supplied, in a weakened state, amongst an inexhaustible harvest of those that too have become dry, crumbling under the weight of life, tired of fighting, simply exhausted and existing with little life, unfulfilled and listening to the lies of the enemy? Solomon notes, “…but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”
Yet, there is more, for this state of “dry” is not exclusive to those that walk absent of relationship with you. We too, those that call you Father and Savior, walk also with a measure of dryness that has crept in, many times unaware, over the years. We all, believers and non-believers alike, including your son Jesus, know, experientially, the trials and tribulations that impact those that would walk this earth in vessels of flesh. Life is hard, unpredictable, striking us unconsciously at times with disease, hopelessness, betrayal, bitterness, anger, resentment, hate, unforgiveness, and the like. We, with open hearts, confess today, with the same passion of your love, that at a most crucial time in our lives, we need that fresh breath of life from you Father. Please, let it sweep in, with magnificence, with wonder and in its fullness over us right now Lord as it did with Ezekiel in the valley of the bones.
So, we linger…here for a time Lord; what might our response be to the question before us so clearly this day? Oh Father, let us all look inward but for a moment, or longer if need be, and let us allow you opportunity to search the far corners of our being, placing, all that is you within and displacing all that is self without. Why must this be of importance Lord? Oh, Father you know. This life, our lives, are not our own; they are to be used as you see fit. Time is of the essence as each day passes to the next and we can no longer afford to simply walk ineffective in and amongst the harvest. We must with an urgency and determination, with the greatest of humility, become once again, powerful in our resolve, confident in our belief and the promises contained within your word, faithful to the call and walk as your representatives, with great care, with great compassion, great kindness, and with the unquenchable love of your Son. Ezekiel would obey your command and after prophesying to the bones it notes, “they lived, and stood upon their feet, as an exceeding great army”. Let us stand Lord, as an army full of all that is of you and let our lives be infectious, aromatic, and may we bear fruit, much fruit, ripe for the picking for those that hunger for such! Let us also speak, with confidence and authority of your word, to the dry bones we encounter. “Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.”
Father I am utterly incapable of releasing this passage from my thought process and I end with the richness of your words… “Arise, shine, for thy light has come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of his rising.” We love you so very much!
In an inescapable state of “undone”
Daniel